Nova Zem
by HoshiRaito
Summary: Our world is practically destroyed, the planets population reduced, most animals are extinct. A Pack of three orphans stumble upon ancient artifacts and are transported to another world, where they fight to place the rightful heir onto the thrown.
1. Chapter 1

AD, 2034, war had overcome earth leaving it in ruin, the world's population was drastically reduced, almost none - existent in some areas. Starvation affected everyone across the globe. The once great and powerful cities such as London, New York and Tokyo were in destitute, roads were unusable, buildings were collapsing, the green lush land burnt to desert-like state. The increasing heat of the sun which was caused by the greenhouse effect which absorbs the sun's rays quicker to what they are released back, which has meant that wildlife simply couldn't adapt to the rapid changes that they faced meaning that thousands of animals became extinct. This is where humans now fight for survival; normal citizens carried firearms used for either protection or fighting as there was no order, no government to place new laws or to help their countries reach stability and peace.

It was either fight or die.

In England, the countryside was destroyed leaving burnt craters in the ground where bombs had hit years ago, the once lush grass was burnt to a sandy brown and would crumble at the slightest touch, trees held no life and looked like skeletons which would dance and crumble in the wind. This country was sinking to a level below that of the sea due to its history of mining, which had left tunnels under the ground that were now collapsing because the government years ago had been negligent.

The majority of England's population was orphaned children whose parents had died during World War Three and in the many fights after that, leaving them uneducated in mental minds and in physical skill. It wasn't uncommon for these children to bond together to create small families, where there was an alpha male and female in the pack. Some of these families became well known for their fighting skills and for their territory.

Staffordshire was an area that was mostly dominated by one family that consisted of three. It was originally a pack made of four however the fourth who was their alpha female, sadly died of an illness the winter passed. This family was called the Lions, named after an extinct courageous animal that they had seen in what little books that have remained.

Heavy footsteps pounded against the floor hurriedly as a small boy darted through the dark street as the sun rose, his arms filled with bread, taking cover from prying eyes behind upturned cars and concrete as he made his way through the town. The boy's breath came out in pants and beads of sweat were upon his brow, but he kept on running because his life depended on it. Pursued by two larger men, several years older than him, their footsteps were much louder than his own.

Taking a turning to the left, the young boy came upon a dead end as he had ran down an alley that was filled with bins and rubbish.

"Ya' took a wrong turning then laddy, nowhere to run now eh?" grinned one of his pursuers as they advanced slowly towards the young one, "So you're really a member of The Lions eh?" he stated as he looked the young boy over, "doesn't seem like much" he laughed.

"Can we just beat him now?" asked the other man, as he held up a baseball bat threateningly, "his is a warning to ya and ya pack mates" the man growled out to the young boy as he took a step forward.

The young boy was still panting, however he stood his ground, "haha, took a wrong turn did i?" he asked, his voice firm as he raised his head to meet his pursuers, "I don't think so, look behind you" he grinned past them, his eyes filled with relief.

"You don't have to worry now Spirit" a voice called out behind the two men, "we've got it covered".

The two men span around to face the one behind them and saw another boy in his late teens and a young girl who looked around the age of fourteen. The young male had long blond hair that was covered in dirt and grime and tied into a loose ponytail, his pale face thin and dirty but his bright blue eyes shone with confidence, clear as the sky from the books of the past. His form was well built, broad shoulders covered by a black hooded jumper, dark, baggy jeans cover his legs, however there were holes and worn out areas around the knees, studded belts and buckles ran along his arms, waist and legs and he wore black worn out trainers.

The girl had bushy brown hair; it was unclear if it was light or dark due to the dirt that was in it and it was obvious that she didn't take much care of it, she also had a pale face and muddy brown eyes that were filled with warmth. She was slender as she had not developed fully yet, her small frame was covered by a black jumper, she wore a black and purple stripped skirt that had buckles hanging from it, her knee length socks were odd, one was stripped with black and purple and the other with black and red, her feet were covered by worn out converse.

"Oh yeah? And wha' ya' gonna do about it boy?" taunted the pursuer who spoke first, his face scrunching up as he took a step towards the two new comers.

The young male smirked in reply, "this" was all he said as he ran forward faster than what the two adults had ever seen and smashed his fist into the first speakers face, the obvious sound of bones breaking echoed through the alley.

"Why ya little!" screamed the other man as he raised the bat high above his head and brought it down, however, the young male simply grabbed the bat, on his hand you could see a golden ring that was in the shape of a lion's head, in its mighty jaws it held a ruby that looked like it was glowing. The lad kicked the man hard in his stomach, so hard in fact that he flew backwards and slammed into a wall.

"You alright Spirit?" asked the girl as she walked forward, stepping on the male with a broken nose, "you seem rather out of breath" she stated, resting her hand upon his shoulder, she like the older boy had a ring upon her finger, also in the shape of a lion's head however, instead of a ruby, hers held a diamond.

"Aye, I'm fine Glacier" said the young boy, now known as Spirit; his features became more apparent now that the sun had risen. He had short black hair that was shaven down the left hand side, his fringe sweeping across this face. He, like the older boy, also had blue eyes, however, his were more stormy and filled with relief at seeing his friends, like the other two, we also wore a black jumper, however, his didn't have sleeves so you could see several studded bands upon his wrists, his jeans were baggy but not as baggy as his elders were and he worse combat boots upon his feet.

"They should know better, bloody sharks" growled the eldest as he looked down at the man whose nose he broke, "do you know who we are, eh old man?" he asked as he lifted the man off the ground by his collar.

"Why should I care to know about a couple o'brats like you?" he spat, his foul breath landed on the eldest boys face causing him to scrunch it in disgust as he tossed the man towards his friend.

"You should care to learn who owns this territory old man" he said smirking as he looked towards his friends, who in return grinned back at him.

"Yeah, after all Kai, isn't the Alpha of the Lions for nothing" Glacier taunted, sticking out he tongue. Kai stood up straighter as watched the men's faces twist with hatred and fear before they darted off as fast as they could, both stumbling due to the pain that they were in, the three young teens taunting laughter followed them.

Kai looked up at the sky as his laughter died down and his face turned into a frown as he predicted the time, he could see the sphere of light shining through the clouds of dust, "come on, let's go before we get burnt to a crisp" he called out to them as he jogged out of the alleyway. Glacier took some of the food out of Spirits' grasp and took off after Kai as the younger boy looked up at the gray sky.

"C'mon Spirit!" Glacier shouted, standing at the entrance, "before the sun goes any higher!" as already the air around them started to heat up.

"Don't start spitting feathers Glac" he called back as he ran past her, "you'll go wrinkly before me and Kai will at this rate" he teased as her face contorted with anger to which he waved a hand to, allowing his ring to be seen, like the other two it was a lion and in its jaws was a sapphire.

"Why you little brat!" she yelled running after and making a grab at him, which he easily dodged laughing.


	2. Chapter 2

"You know Spirit, you need to learn how to be a man" Glacier stated as she lounged on a rugged armchair, the fabric torn and the stuffing was gradually coming out of the holes, she was examining her bitten nails as she did so. "I mean, out of the three of us, you may be the fastest on a good day, but you have no stamina or strength what-so-ever" she stated, looking pointedly at his thin figure.

The two children were currently sitting in an abandoned house, the plaster on the walls cracked and crumbling due to the heat of the atmosphere and neglect. The carpet would have been thick and cream in colour, however, it was now thin from usage and dirty from mud, food stains and other unknown substances.

The fireplace hadn't been lit for years due to the lack of need for it had started to rust and grow mold. As the doors looked worse for wear were barely hanging onto their rust hinges, cupboards were missing doors and had huge chunks of wood chipped off and the window was thick in dirt and dust however this was an advantage as it stopped the sun from penetrating the house too much making it cooler for the occupants.

"Gee thanks Glace, my esteem just skyrocketed…to the bottom" he retorted, pulling a displeased face as he unloaded the food that was in his arms onto a makeshift table made up of bricks for legs and a wooden plank. "I could say the same for you though, you barely fight-"

"I fight more than you do" she cut across him as she reached for a slice of bread, "you ru-"

She was silenced by the door slamming shut as Kai walked in, his footsteps echoing through the room, his eyes watching them amused, "you two stop flirting" he smirked as their faces turned red and spluttered out their mortification.

"Me? With the _bird nest _over there?_" _Spirit exclaimed upset, "I'd rather go out with that ugly fat man down the road, you know the one with the huge mole on the end of his nose!" his face went pale just thinking of the man in question as he sat down on a cushion.

"Hey! I wouldn't go out with Spir even if you gave me four lives worth of food" Glacier growled as she smacked the arm of the chair.

Kai started to laugh at how predictable his friends were as he laid out on the well-worn sofa he had found a few weeks ago in an abandoned building, it had taken all three of them to move it back to their base.

The room fell into silence, each one in their own thoughts and eating the food that had been brought in today.

"…isn't it almost time to go visit The Spot?" Spirit voiced up quietly as he looked at the floor, his face blank.

"Aye" Kai sighed looking at the other boy, "We'll set off when dusk arrives in three days' time", he stood up swiftly as the two younger children watched him, "I'm gonna get an early day, you should do the same if we want to take up that challenge". Kai trudged towards the door "and don't forget to store the food!" he called out just before the door shut after him.

The room lapsed into silence once more as the two occupants went into their own worlds.

"Who challenged us again Glace?" Spirit enquired as he watched her from across the room biting his nails.

"The Snakes" she answered, "they painted their mark on ours, the one that Skye painted" she growled out, her displeasure showing on her face.

"The bastards" Spirit exclaimed as he slammed his foot down on the floor, "how dare they think they can just get ta'way with tha!"

"Oi! Don't let Kai hear you swear or he'll ave ya hind" Glacier interrupted casting a side glance at him, "you know how he feels about swears...and besides, it's not like you can do much anyway" she teased, sticking her tongue out "he'll let them have it" she smirked as Spirit chuckled.

"Aye, that he will" he grinned at her "they don't know that they've released a monster" he stated as he started to gather the food and putting it away into a cupboard. "But he's right, we need an early day" he looked at her pointedly as he knew she liked to stay up.

"Hey Spir" she called out as he reached the door causing him to look over his shoulder at her in return, "where do you think we would be if Kai hadn't have found us?" asked Glace quietly as she looked out of the window at the sun.

There was a moment silence until the door handle clinked and turned, "do you even have to ask that?" he asked opening the door, "we'd be dead" he answered quietly as he shut the door behind him leaving the girl on her own.

"Yeah, I know we would" she whispered sadly as she watched the fiery red rays of the sun rise higher and the heat distorting the air outside of their base, before she too, stood up to join the others in slumber, "I wonder what life would be like, if the world was still intact?" she whispered into her makeshift pillow.

"C'mon you two" Spirit called out from on top of a crumbling building, "hurry up or we'll be late!" he said as he jumped down, hopping from ledge to ledge. He had reached the bottom as Kai and Glacier reached the top, the latter gasping for breath as she stood with her hands upon her knees. "Who's the one who lacks stamina now?" the younger lad called up to her smirking, the only reason he could see her was due to the street lights that lit up the darkness, keeping it at bay.

"Shut it you!" she gasped having difficulty breathing from the dry air, "its dryer than normal alright?" she called down to him when Kai placed his hand upon her shoulder making her turn to look up at him.

"Take your time alright" he had a small kind smile as he looked down at her before he went down to join Spirit, "you don't need to rush, they can wait" he called up to her as he and Spirit started to walk towards an abandoned, crumbling stadium in the distance, walking past over turned cars and hopping over holes in the ground.

"Yea, sure I can" she grumbled as she slowly made her way down, "and let you guys have the fun?" hopping over a hole, she started to run after them "I think not!" she yelled jumping to smack Kai on the head.

"What they hell?" he protested, rubbing the back of his head as he looked at her smug face, "I was only being nice" he pouted as Spirit poked him in ribs.

"The almighty Kai, brought down by a walking birds nest" he teased as both Glacier and Kai glared at him, "what would the other Packs say?"

Kai just grunted, his mood dampening with every step they took to the stadium, the others noticed this and went silent, taking in the surroundings.

They all had wondered at some point in their lives what it would have been like to live in the past, where the grass was lush and the trees bore leaves and fruit in some cases, where the roads were intact and you could drive from one destination to another. Mostly they wondered what it would be like to have a family, a Mother, a Father and siblings that were connected by blood not just by a common cause for survival.

However, they knew this was just a dream as they looked around them; no form of real plant life was around, the ground hard and cracked from the lack of moisture and how night and dad had swapped roles in life because of the increased heat meaning instant burns. This is what their ancestors had left them, a broken planet where all their nightmares are a reality. And all these children had to say was "...Thank you _very _much" by the way, that was sarcasm for those who didn't pick up.

The three looked up at the stadium looming above them, it like any other building was crumbling, however, due to this being an area that was used often, many of the Packs worked together to maintain it so that it was usable, they included did this. They walked through the recently mended doors and saw few people in there, some turned around to look at them, offered them greetings that were returned with a wave or a smile from the younger two as Kai just carried on walking through another set of doors forcing them to catch up.

"He seems to be in a rush to beat them up today" a voice called out to them from behind, turning around they saw a woman in her mid-twenties walking up to them. She wore a pair of dirty blue shorts that stopped at her knees, a lighter blue t-shirt and a black over shirt on top of that, her feet covered in black ankle high army boots. Her eyes were a friendly brown and her purple hair was cropped short, which made many people look twice because at first glance you'd think she was a young man.

"Hey Bluebell" Spirit greeted her with a smile as Glacier scoffed, turning her head to the side with a frown.

"Awww, ya still sore that I beat ya in the mock games Glace?" Bluebell teased as she ruffled the younger girls already messy hair, "I don't know why ya dun cut ya hair like mine, it's much easier to handle" she grinned, running a hand through her own hair.

"What? And look like a boy? Nah, I'll pass" Glace shot back with a wink.

Bluebell laughed at the comment, rubbing the back of her head and she shifted her weight from one leg to another, "So, what's got Mr. Gloom an' Doom in a serious mood?" she asked as she looked past them at the doors he had moment ago walked through.

Spirit's face turned to an angry frown as Glace grinded her teeth together, "The Snakes painted their mark on one of ours for the challenge" Spirit spat as he clenched his fists.

"Oooooh fuck" Bluebell sighed, "they're challenging you for all your territory then" she stated, making Spirit turn to her confused.

"What ya mean?" he asked "I thought it was a normal challenge for that surrounding area".

"Nope my little spitfire" she replied, humor not lost, well not for her anyway, "normally for a challenge on that area they would paint their hand in their colour and leave a hand print on the side of your mark. It means that they still respect you. However, if another pack actually paints on your sign it means that they want all your land and they have no respect for your pack. And in this world, respect is everything" she informed them, "I'm surprised that Kai hasn't told you about this" she commented.

"Well Kai and Skye used to try and keep us out of challenge fights if they could" Glacier mumbled, biting her thumb nail.

"Aye, I guessed they would" Bluebell laughed, "under all that exterior he's a big old softy for you two" she smiled down at them "ya blessed to have him as ya Alpha, shame what happened to Skye though, far too young for the heavens to have 'er".

"That's another reason why he's so angry" Spirit said looking downcast, "They painted over the last mark she made for us".

"Well I'll be! That truly is an insult" Bluebells growled, her face quickly flashed angrily before it went back to her happy self, "Don't ya worry about them after this, me and my Pack, we'll...sort them out" she grinned before she turned and started to walk back to her fellow members "ya'll go on to Kai now, I've kept ya long enough" she called back to them, "I'd wish ya good luck but ya don't need it" she laughed again.

"What you two standing around for?" Kai called out, his head poking out of the door, a small frown played on his lips, "C'mon!"

The lights for the battle ground flicked on as both packs walked onto the field. The Snakes had five members in the pack, three males and two females, all of which looked above the age of twenty-five, some even had grey splashed in their messy hair, the skin tanned and wrinkles starting to show.

"So you oldies ready to rumble?" Glacier called out, smirking with her arms folded, releasing an aura of smugness as she looked upon their opponents, "you sure you don't want to sit down first to catch your breath?" she teased them causing the crowd around the two groups to laugh.

"You should respect yer elders girlie" stated a male who stood in front, "but then again, I do like a tongue on a girl" he grinned perversely at her, his yellowing teeth flashing in the light as he winked.

The younger Pack all looked at him in a mixture of disgust and anger as the other members in his group laughed.

Kai was forced to grab Spirits arms as he went to attack the other male, "I don't go for old men sorry" Glacier retorted, "after all your all wrinkly and waaaaay past ya sell by date and I can smell your old man smell from all the way over here" she waved a hand underneath her nose to emphasize on this fact. The old man growled at her as she laughed and added "and you're probably cheesy too".

The referee came out before the old man could make a lunge at her as the crowd laughed, he was a small but well-built man as his job was to keep fights within the rules and interfere if things went out of hand.

"OK. We're gonna go with the one-on-one seeing as the Pack numbers are uneven," the small man stated "One person from each side will come up front for a one-on-one fist fight, the first person on their backs for more than thirty seconds loses". He called out to the crowd as they cheered. "Also, it will be done in The Cage, requested by The Snakes, which has been accepted by the Lions" this made the crowd go quiet as they mumbled to each other and the two younger Lions to look at each other confused. "Will the two teams go to their benches to decide who will battle" the referee's voice boomed across the mumbles of the crowd and Glacier could see Bluebells' worried face in the sea of people.

Kai had already walked past the two and was now sitting on the bench, he had taken off his jumper and was now wrapping is fists in bandages to protect them from the impacts they would be making within a few moments.

"What's The Cage Kai?" Spirit demanded, marching over to stand in front of the elder boy, his hands on his hips as he studied Kai's movements, "How come we've never heard of it?" his voice lowered so that the three of them were the only ones who could hear.

"The Cage is as its sounds, it's a cage" he stated, not once glancing up, choosing to concentrate on making sure his fists were protected, "Two contestants fight in the cage until one person goes down for thirty seconds" he finished as he stood up and started to stretch, looking across to see that the other Pack were laughing and talking, none of them were making any movements that showed that they were preparing.

"Can you get out of The Cage?" Glacier asked, her eyes narrowed at the contraction as it was being brought onto the field by several well-muscled men.

Kai then glanced at them, his face not betraying any emotion, "Only when the loser has been decided" he told them after a moment silence, studying their faces, he scoffed, "And as if I'd lose" he smirked.

Glaciers' eyes narrowed more as she looked at Kai in suspicion, they widened as a sudden thought crossed her mind, "Kai" she said, her voice cold as her name, "How many times have you been in this 'Cage'?" she asked, looking at his scarred arms as Spirits' own eyes widened and jaw slacked in disbelief.

His smirk fell as his face became emotionless once again, "...including this, three time" he sighed, eyes becoming ice as he stretched his arms.

"Why didn'tcha tell us?" Spirit exclaimed angrily standing in front of the older boy.

"Look, I don't have time for this, alright! My first fight in it was before I even met you guys" he growled walking past them to stand at the door of the cage, the man from earlier coming to stand in front of him, leering at Glacier over Kai's shoulder. "Oi, you keep your eyes on me old man" Kais' voice was low as he growled at the other male who smirked confidently down at him.

"Ya should 'ave just let us 'ave the girlie boy and given up ya territory" he laughed, "It would 'ave saved ya the pain, unless ya wanna back out now".

"There's one thing you should have heard about me old man" Kai grinned confidently as he stood so he was chest to chest with the repulsive male, "Is that Lions never run away", his eyes locked onto The Snakes, "_I _never run away".


End file.
